Christmas
by Toa Karou
Summary: Christmas at the Saejima mansion: a series of Christmas-themed one-shots
1. Christmas Tree

I figured there weren't enough KougaXKaoru fics here, so I thought I'll contribute =)

_**Disclaimer: If I owned GARO... I have no idea what I'll change.**_

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><p>After a night of fighting Horrors, Kouga returned to the Saejima mansion, only to be greeted by the sight of strings of tiny lit bulbs decorated around the building. Sighing, he stepped through the front door being held open by his faithful butler, Gonza.<p>

"Welcome back, Kouga-sama. I trust you had a fruitful night?"

Kouga merely grunted in response and passed his white coat and sword to Gonza. "I'll be in the living room."

His initial thought of reclining in his armchair and taking a short nap was quickly forgotten once he saw the scene in the room. A large pine tree had somehow made its way into a corner of the room next to the fireplace with more string bulbs hung on its spiny branches. The other resident of the mansion, a certain Mitsuki Kaoru, was standing on a foot stool, hanging colourful decorations on the tree.

"Kaoru, what are you doing?"

"Kouga! You're back already!" Kaoru cheerfully remarked, briefly pausing her actions.

The Makai Knight rolled his eyes and made his way to the black arm chair next to the tree. Kaoru quickly resumed decorating the tree, hanging an angel ornament on a nearby branch.

"I figured since we're like a family, we could try celebrating Christmas together." She bent down to reach into a box full of ornaments and retrieved a decorative ball. When Kouga did not reply, she frowned.

"Let me guess… 'There is no point in celebrating a useless holiday', right?" She said mockingly, somehow hoping she was wrong. Kouga glanced at her and was about to answer, when he saw the hope in her eyes. He bit his lip and cursed himself for not knowing how to react.

"I… just figured you needed to cheer up more often, but I guess you don't like Christmas, do you?" The disappointment was apparent in her voice. She shut her eyes, trying to hold back her tears.

Kouga cleared his throat, visibly uncomfortable with the situation. Soundlessly, he got up from his seat and picked up a big, golden star from the box.

"I've never celebrated Christmas, but I'm willing to try it with you."

He offered a smile, placing the star in her hand. Kaoru wiped the tears from her face and grinned. With his hand over her smaller one, they gently placed the star at the tip of the tree.


	2. Costume

_Shameless plugging: By the way, you can see this story and more on ridevendor (dot) livejournal (dot) com!_

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><p>"Here, wear this!"<p>

Kouga stared at the red and white costume held out before him.

"What is that?" He picked up what seemed like a soft cone hat, with a white furry ball attached to the tip.

"It's a Santa Claus costume! Just try it on!" Kaoru snatched the hat from his hands and shoved it onto his head. The furry ball fell over his face, obscuring his vision.

"I refuse." He growled in annoyance, plucking the hat off his head and dumping it aside as he made his way to the dining table, where his breakfast awaited him. Frustrated, she stomped her foot and followed after him, not willing to give up just yet.

"Please, just this once?" Kaoru begged, giving the best puppy eyes she could muster. Kouga sighed, setting down his fork and turning to face the persistent woman.

"If I do, will you leave me alone?"

He barely saw the enthusiastic nod before his combed hair was covered by the hat once again, no doubt messing up minutes of effort put into styling it. In a flurry of movement, he soon found himself in a warm, overly-cheerful outfit complete with a fake beard and a fake pot belly.

As luck would have it, orders came in from the Senate. Taking advantage of the moment Kaoru ran upstairs to retrieve her camera, Kouga quickly grabbed his sword, dashed out of the mansion and opened up the Makai path to the Senate. Several times, he thought Zaruba was trying to say something, but instead he was making strange sounds he could not identify. Making a mental note to ask Leo to look at Zaruba, he rushed to the Senate and reported for duty.

"What is it this time?" Kouga asked in annoyance when neither the watchdog nor Leo said anything upon his arrival. Instead, they seemed… amused.

"Kouga-san, I didn't expect to see you in that outfit today…" Leo managed, before bursting out in laughter. This set off a chain of laughter in the otherwise ominous room, even Zaruba was laughing! Kouga looked down at his clothes and realized, in embarrassment, that he had forgotten to take off the Santa costume before leaving. Cursing under his breath, he quickly stripped down to his black leather outfit before finally receiving proper orders.

Honestly, he had no idea why he tolerated that woman.


	3. Gift

**Gift**

"A highlight of Christmas festivities is the exchange of presents, Kouga-sama. Are you planning on getting one for Kaoru-sama?"

Kouga looked up from staring at the wrapped boxes under the decorated tree in the living room. After he and Kaoru had hung the rest of the ornaments that night, Kaoru said something about buying gifts and had disappeared for the whole of the next day. Shortly after, he noticed the formerly empty space under the cone-shaped tree had started filling up with colourful boxes which contents remain unknown.

"I… guess so." He got up and headed for the main hall.

"What do you have in mind, Kouga-sama? I can get it for you if you like."

Kouga waved a hand, gesturing for Gonza to step back as he donned his long, white coat and prepared to head out.

"No, thank you. I'd prefer to get it myself." Grabbing his signature sword by habit, he stashed it in his coat and exited the building.

As he walked through the crowded streets, he noticed every store along the streets were packed with people, most likely buying Christmas present as he was. A few pedestrians stopped to stare at his unusual outfit, but he paid little heed to them, never slowing his pace in the moving traffic as he scanned the stores for something worth getting.

Eventually, one store caught his eye. It was a small art and craft shop, selling various art materials and well, scrapbooks. Kouga slowly browsed through the materials, before realizing he had little experience with art and whatever was needed to make it. A sales assistant (who had been admiring his beautifully detailed coat) came over to help.

"How can I help you, sir?"

Kouga looked down at the shorter man, who looked distinctly like an artist with his paint-splattered apron and overall unkempt look, and nodded.

"I'm looking for a gift for someone."

"Ah, is it a lady friend? If so, I have just the thing for you!" He let out a knowing chuckle, before searching the adjacent shelf. When he returned, he held a few scrapbooks before him. Kouga frowned at the selection; they were definitely feminine, with cheerful flowers and the colour pink splashed all over the covers, but they didn't seem to fit Kaoru's personality. Then an idea presented itself.

"Do you take requests for custom scrapbooks?"

A few days later, Kouga returned to the same store. The same enthusiastic storekeeper gestured him over to the counter, where he then produced a beautiful A4 scrapbook with an illustration of a golden knight and his lady neatly reproduced on the cover. The storekeeper returned the photo he had used for reference to Kouga, grinning.

"What do you think?"

"It's perfect. I'll take it."


	4. Family

_A/N: The shortest one yet. There should be one more after this, once I get around to writing it that is..._

**Family**

A ring of the doorbell disturbed Kouga from his training. Annoyed, he stopped the training and sheathed his sword, heading upstairs to open the door. This visitor just had to come when Gonza and Kaoru were out buying groceries…

"Merry Christmas, Kouga~"

Oh, it's him again.

Wearing a fluffy red Santa hat, Rei smiled at the constantly frowning Kouga and proceeded to enter the Saejima mansion without invitation.

"Rei, what are you doing here?" Kouga closed the door behind them as the younger knight automatically made his way to the living room, where heat radiated from the fireplace.

"Well, it's Christmas, I thought you might want to celebrate with friends as well as family." Rei grinned cheekily before taking off his long coat and folding it neatly, placing it in his lap for extra warmth.

"Besides, I've prepared presents for all of you!" He proceeded to take out wrapped presents from within his coat, totaling 4 altogether. He stacked them neatly under the tree next to Kaoru's pile, then returned to his former spot on the ground and made himself comfortable.

'Fine, do what you like." Kouga rolled his eyes as Rei continued to watch the flames dance in the fireplace, recovering from the coldness of the winter winds. Without another word, he left the room and grabbed his coat from the coat hanger next to the front door.

"Kouga, where are you going?" Zaruba asked as Kouga left the mansion.

"To buy more presents. Now be quiet."


	5. Dinner

_A/N: My gosh, it's been nearly 2 years since I updated. Inspired by the announcement of the new series about Raiga, I figured it's time to finish this once and for all! This didn't turn out the way I planned, so you guys are getting another one after this (hopefully there won't be a 2 year wait this time)!_

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><p>Take deep breaths, Kouga reminded himself as he took a defensive stance. His sword steadied as he did so, muscles tensed and ready to strike an imaginary opponent. With a simple command, his body began going through his usual pattern of movements, muscle memory allowing his mind to drift momentarily.<p>

Gonza had requested that he stay out of the mansion for a few hours so they could complete the 'preparations'. What were they doing? The tree is up, with a tiny pile of wrapped presents at its base. What more was there to do?

"Kouga-san, it's time for- GAH!"

At the sudden noise, Kouga swung his blade around, pointed right at the newcomer. Upon realising who it was, he relaxed and sheathed his sword.

"Leo. What are you doing here?"

"Rei-san called me and the others over for dinner. We're waiting for you now," Leo answered, still recovering from the shock of having a sword pointed at his throat.

"The others being…" Of course Rei would invite more people over to his house. Without his knowledge. And to think he was hoping to celebrate the holiday alone with Kaoru.

"You'll see." Leo smiled, then headed back to the mansion with Kouga following behind. As he stepped through the door, confetti rained from above.

"Merry Christmas!" A very merry Kaoru grinned at him with the remains of a party popper in her hand. At the sight of his beloved, he couldn't help but smile. A second later, he noticed they had an audience. The annoyed frown returned full force.

"What is everyone doing here?"

Rei bounced up to Kouga, plopping a santa hat on him. "It's Christmas! I called everyone you tolerated over for dinner, maybe that'll finally get you into the Christmas spirit."

'Everyone he tolerated' indeed. There's Leo, Jabi, Tsubasa, Rekka, Shiguto, Rin, Wataru... Come to think of it, the list of people he liked is depressingly short, considering how everyone could sit comfortably at his dinner table with space to spare. As he took his seat next to Kaoru at the head of the table, he looked over the impressive spread of food displayed before him.

"Did you prepare this yourself, Gonza?" He asked the butler.

"Oh no, Kaoru-sama helped with a few dishes." Seeing Kouga's eyes widen in fear, Kaoru quickly added, "With his supervision, of course!"

Kouga visibly relaxed. Rei smirked, before clapping his hands twice to get everyone's attention.

"Well, now that Garo has arrived, shall we dig in?"

Everyone agreed, and within moments food was being passed around, with praises sung of how delicious they were. Interestingly, no one had touched a plate of omelette plate in front of Kouga, and he had an idea as to why that was.

"Here, Kouga! Try the omelette!" Kaoru cut up a generous portion of the egg and placed it on Kouga's plate. From the corner of his eye, he could see Gonza preparing a bucket. With a gulp, he nervously took a bite of the omelette.

… Well, it wasn't exactly the most delicious plate of omelette he has ever eaten, but Gonza's supervision has clearly had some effect. He swallowed the omelette, forcing a smile and praying his gag reflex won't kick in.

"It's alright."

Kaoru smiled, and he couldn't help but give her a kiss on the cheek.


End file.
